A Rogue flying on a Hippogryph through Ashenvale, en route to Azshara. Click on the screenshot to view gallery of World of Warcraft screenshots.

“It’s just this real carnival atmosphere,” she explains. “You go play games, do rides, eat strange foods and throw up.”

In the picturesque land of Azeroth, two opposing factions—Horde and Alliance—compete for power. When creating a character, players must side with one of these factions. Players must also choose a race, a class and a profession for their character.

A resulting character, for example, would be a Horde Orc Warrior who works as a blacksmith. Players also customize the skin color, facial features, hairstyle and hair color of their character. Each character has its own specific skill set that plays off of the strengths and weaknesses of other characters.

Increasingly powerful weapons and armor become available as players advance their characters through different levels. In addition, characters can essentially hop on the back of a flying creature as a form of transportation, which is much faster than hoofing it and much more scenic than zapping through a portal.

George Henze, an academic adviser at UW-Richland Center, used to play WoW with a group of friends and now enjoys meeting new people online. He says the most intriguing aspect of the game to him is the character development, adding he tried to learn about the different types of characters and the narrative story rather than advancing quickly through the levels.

Perhaps one of the most appealing aspects of World of Warcraft is its players’ ability to construct their own unique experiences based on their individual interests within the game. Players can choose to test their strength in the battlegrounds, advance their character through the content by completing quests, or just wander through Azeroth solo.

It may seem quite complicated, but players can also join guilds to help guide them along the way. A guild is a community within the game where players work together to achieve certain tasks.

“There is a social component to playing, then having an established group of people you know when you log in adds to that,” says Mike Schmierbach, an assistant professor at Penn State University.

Some guilds are more competitive than others—some even require an application process—but either way, the guild structure enhances camaraderie between players.

“They’re playing together and rubbing virtual elbows beside each other, night after night or a couple of times a week, and so people start to get to know each other,” says Elizabeth King, a doctoral candidate in UW-Madison’s educational communications and technology program.

However, the guild structure adds another layer of social obligation to the game.

“There’s the social pressure of guilds, which is both the best and the worst thing about the game,” Wolfenstein says.

“A lot of people who are in guilds feel like they need to help the guilds,” Schmierbach adds.

Henze recalls a time the rest of his guild convinced him to stay online and complete a raid, a process that can take up to eight hours in the more advanced levels of the game.

“Once you start them, you don’t get the reward unless you stay for the whole thing. When you have to get up for work the next morning, staying up ‘til two in the morning waiting for a raid to finish just isn’t real smart,” Henze laughs.

While guilds provide players with opportunities to socialize within the game, World of Warcraft connects players outside of the game, as well. People who play World of Warcraft are not necessarily antisocial loners who lock themselves up in their basements for weeks every time Blizzard releases a new expansion pack. In fact, Wolfenstein says he knows guilds that hold monthly barbeques.

“Making enduring friendships that often will go out of the game or will go into other games as a space for play is a huge factor,” Wolfenstein says.

Many gamers play not for the online social benefits, but to keep in touch with friends who live thousands of miles away. It’s better than a phone call, Wolfenstein says, because you are actually doing something together.

“The opportunity to connect with people that you already know, and to spend that time, that shared activity together, is definitely huge,” he says.